Heafey Law Library

Specialties

The Edwin A. Heafey Law Library houses the basic legal reference and research collection for the students and faculty at the School of Law. The Heafey Law Library underwent a $ 6 million expansion and renovation in 1988. The law library now occupies approximately 40,000 square feet of space and offers student conference rooms, computer labs, a wireless network, enhanced audio-​visual capabilities, and increased student seating for over 400 students. The collection totals approximately 400,000 volumes in hard copy, microform, and digital formats.

This is a private academic library open exclusively to currently enrolled law students at Santa Clara University or active members of a state bar association who have purchased a courtesy card. The library is not open to the public and provides no public services.

History

Established in 1913.

The Edwin Heafey Law Library was constructed in 1963, and expanded in 1973 to include more space for library materials. Heafey was renovated and expanded again in 1988. The collection contains over 400,000 volumes in both print and digital formats. Additionally, the library manages an institutional repository which currently contains over 4,000 digital items including a collection of papers related to the Congressional hearings regarding the Watergate Scandal donated by Congressman Don Edwards. Other digital collections include documents relating to litigation over the Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act (also known as Obamacare) and the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.